“Who’s talking? Is there still someone in your place?” Shen Qian’s voice was laced with interrogation. “You clearly said last time there wasn’t.”
“It’s ten o’clock, where would I even go this late?” Xuan Congnan replied to Gu Shi before hanging up on Shen Qian’s call.
He edited a text message and sent it to the unknown number: Don’t keep calling me from new numbers. I made things crystal clear last time, there’s nothing left to talk about. Shen Qian, I just want to live a peaceful life, and naturally we had to break up since we weren’t a good match. Don’t reply to my messages; text messages cost 10 cents each.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” Xuan Congnan stopped fiddling with his new phone, afraid something else might go wrong, and his stomach was rumbling. “Let’s eat.”
“Mm,” Gu Shi said.
“Ping.”
China Mobile sent a text message: You made a deposit of 5,000 yuan at 22:00 on June 5, 20X, current balance is 5,005.21 yuan.
Immediately followed by a text from that same unknown number: We can talk for a long time now.
Nannan, come out and see me. Or I’ll come to your rental place to find you.
Xuan Congnan furrowed his brow, losing his appetite completely. He detested people who didn’t know how to let go.
“What’s wrong?” Gu Shi asked.
“Shen.” Xuan Congnan swallowed Shen Qian’s name back down. “My ex-boyfriend topped up my phone with 5,000 yuan. Can I call customer service to have this refunded to him?”
Gu Shi reached out his hand. “Let me see.”
Having never encountered such a situation and afraid he wouldn’t be able to handle it himself, Xuan Congnan handed over his phone without a second thought.
Shen Qian sent another text: Nannan, don’t hide from me.
“Are you going to block him?” Gu Shi asked first.
Xuan Congnan nodded. “Mm.”
Gu Shi swiftly blocked and deleted the unknown number, then changed the settings to reject all calls from unknown numbers: “No unknown numbers will be able to harass you from now on.”
Xuan Congnan didn’t know you could configure such a setting; he had even been considering buying a completely new phone number just a moment ago.
Much like his phone, he had used his phone number for many years, and his handful of friends all contacted him through it. Finding it troublesome, Xuan Congnan had been too lazy to bother changing it.
“Thank you.” He leaned his head over to watch Gu Shi fiddle with the device.
“I’ll help you get a new SIM card tomorrow,” Gu Shi said.
Xuan Congnan was puzzled. “Why? Can’t we block unknown calls now?”
“Yes,” Gu Shi said, “setting that up has its pros and cons. If my phone ever dies in the future and I call you from someone else’s phone, I won’t be able to reach you. Your old number stays for your friends, and the new number can be set to accept calls from strangers by default. That way, if I really do need to reach you from someone else’s phone, I’ll be able to get through.”
Figuring he only had half a month left to live here at most, Xuan Congnan couldn’t understand why Gu Shi was thinking so far ahead.
He cast a strange look at Gu Shi, words hovering on the tip of his tongue. Remembering that Gu Shi had bought the phone anyway, he figured he would just go along with whatever Gu Shi said.
“Alright,” Xuan Congnan nodded and said.
Gu Shi dialed “10068”, briefly explained the situation, and asked customer service to apply for a full refund of the money someone had mistakenly topped up into Xuan Congnan’s account.
Hearing customer service say alright, Xuan Congnan asked the moment the call ended, “Is the money refunded?”
“Mm,” Gu Shi said.
Xuan Congnan let out a sigh of relief. “I thought I was going to be left owing something and get tangled up in endless mess.”
“Ping.”
China Mobile sent a text message: You made a deposit of 19,999 yuan at 22:00 on June 5, 20X, current balance is 20,005.21 yuan.
Xuan Congnan drew in a sharp breath. “?”
Gu Shi put down the phone. “Me.”
Xuan Congnan relaxed slightly for a split second, then looked completely bewildered. “What are you doing?”
“I bought the phone, I top up the phone bill,” Gu Shi answered as a matter of course.
He replied so quickly that it didn’t give anyone time to process it deeply. For a fleeting second, Xuan Congnan actually felt like what he said made a lot of sense.
Glancing at the digits on the phone bill, Xuan Congnan said, “When you top up a phone bill, why is it such an awkward amount?”
“Is that so?” Gu Shi lowered his head to check and confirm. “Must have hit the wrong keys.”
Since his roommate was a ridiculously wealthy celebrity, Xuan Congnan scooped up a spoonful of shrimp fried rice and said, “You’re the one who topped it up yourself.”
“Mm,” Gu Shi said.
He added, “You can record audio. You don’t have to pay it back.”
Being called out on his thoughts so abruptly was rather embarrassing. Xuan Congnan laughed and said, “No need to record. I trust you.”
Gu Shi took a sip of the sweet soup, the rim of the bowl blocking his lips and chin as he replied, “Mm.”
“—Wait, no,” Xuan Congnan said, his brow slightly furrowing.
Gu Shi looked over. “What is it?”
“Didn’t he say he was coming to my rental place to find me? Yes, he said that.” Xuan Congnan quickly got up and walked behind the door to check if the deadbolt was fully locked. “Though I doubt he’ll actually come, but since you’re here.”
He turned back to negotiate, “How about you go hide in my bedroom for a bit?”
“I want to eat here. I’m hungry,” Gu Shi said.
“Take the fried rice and sweet soup inside,” Xuan Congnan urged.
Gu Shi refused. “A bedroom isn’t a place for eating; it’ll leave a smell in there.”
“Just open the window to air it out when you’re done eating,” Xuan Congnan hurried him along. “I don’t mind, you go in fi.”
Bang, bang, bang!
Three violent impacts rang out against the door panels. Xuan Congnan, whose hand was still resting on the brass lock he had just verified as secured, jumped in fright and frantically slapped the light switch by the wall.
The lights in the living room went out instantly.
“Nannan.” Shen Qian’s voice lacked its usual sober gentleness; it sounded somewhat husky and lazy, as if he had been drinking. “I know you haven’t gone to sleep yet. You’re right behind the door. I saw it—there was light coming from under the crack of the door… Why did you turn off the lights?”
Xuan Congnan’s heart was pounding wildly.
Because of his parents’ influence, Xuan Congnan was a relatively conservative person. When he dated, he just dated; as long as they weren’t married or holding marriage certificates, he would absolutely never sleep with or cohabit with a boyfriend.
Yet earlier in the day, he had invited Shen Qian to sit for a while at his rental place. When Shen Qian accompanied him for a meal, it took a bit longer, and thinking that Shen Qian still had work that afternoon, he had let Shen Qian go upstairs to take a short nap in his bedroom.
It was the first time he had ever invited a boyfriend into his own home, and Xuan Congnan had felt somewhat nervous.
Shades of blue dominated most of the household items, and Shen Qian had asked, “Do you like blue?”
At that time, they had been together for half a year. If Shen Qian truly cared, that would have been more than enough time for someone as observant as him to notice what Xuan Congnan liked in their daily lives.
Yet it was only after entering Xuan Congnan’s rental place that he asked if he liked blue.
He hadn’t thought much of it back then, but looking back now.
Xuan Congnan let out a frustrated sigh, thinking he truly was dense.
In the darkness, Gu Shi heard Xuan Congnan’s sigh and tightened his grip on his chopsticks.
“Nannan, there’s someone in your room. He spoke while you were on the phone,” Shen Qian banged heavily on the door. “Who is he? Will you open the door? Can hiding from me solve anything? Come out and see me.”
“Nannan, say something.”
“Shh—keep your voice down, the building is old and the soundproofing is terrible,” Xuan Congnan groped his way back to Gu Shi in the dark, his hands flailing and grabbing onto something to use as a compass for fear of bumping into a stool. “No one’s answering him; he should leave in a moment. If he makes too much of a fuss, the neighbors will complain about the noise and come out to chase him off.”
Gu Shi let out a low hum through his nose in agreement.
“Sorry, I grabbed your arm,” Xuan Congnan let go immediately. “I drew the curtains, so it’s dark in here and my eyes haven’t adjusted yet.”
“It’s fine,” Gu Shi kept his arm raised right where Xuan Congnan had grabbed it. Imitating Xuan Congnan’s tone, he spoke in almost a breathy whisper, “As long as you didn’t bump into anything.”
Shen Qian was still pounding on the door, shouting, “Xuan Congnan.”
Xuan Congnan muttered under his breath, “Just how much did he drink?”
“A man is three parts drunk, and he acts until you weep,” Gu Shi said.
Xuan Congnan: “…”
The hallway had a voice-activated light that was very dim and only worked half the time. But when the light did flicker on, that sliver of illumination slipped through the crack of the door and into the room. Xuan Congnan’s eyes gradually began to make out shapes in the dark, catching sight of Gu Shi speaking with a completely straight face.
Gu Shi added, “Don’t believe him.”
Xuan Congnan let out an inexplicable, amused chuckle. “I don’t.”
“Mm,” Gu Shi said.
A phone ringtone suddenly pierced the air. Thinking it was his own new phone, Xuan Congnan scrambled in a panic to turn it off.
When his hand touched a phone, he realized it wasn’t his, nor was it Gu Shi’s.
Outside the door, Shen Qian answered the call, “What is it?”
Xuan Congnan held his breath and strained his ears to listen.
After a few dozen seconds, as if receiving some kind of notification, Shen Qian lowered his voice. “Got it.”
Another minute passed. Footsteps sounded outside the door, heading down the stairs. They grew further and further away.
Xuan Congnan could hear Shen Qian stop and stand still halfway down the staircase; he was probably staring up at his bedroom door.
Only when all sound had completely faded did Xuan Congnan tip-toe over to open the door and peek outside. He was truly gone.
With the lights turned back on, brightness flooded the living room once more, causing both him and Gu Shi to squint slightly.
Xuan Congnan recovered quickly. “Sorry, I hope he didn’t scare you.”
“He didn’t,” Gu Shi said, calling out, “Congnan.”
“Hm?” Xuan Congnan replied.
“Have you ever thought about moving?” Gu Shi asked.
“I have thought about it. But the person looking for me isn’t just him alone, it’s just that an ex-boyfriend got added to the mix tonight,” Xuan Congnan picked up his shrimp fried rice, which he had been eating on and off. It was getting a bit cold, which was a real waste. He continued, “No matter where I move, I won’t have any peace and quiet, plus the rent here is cheap.”
He didn’t mention just how cheap the rent was—a mere 450 yuan a month—fearing it might make Gu Shi feel unbalanced, which made his voice sound somewhat faint when talking about the rent.
“Mm,” Gu Shi acknowledged.
“Finish your food, don’t waste it,” Xuan Congnan said.
“I won’t waste it,” Gu Shi replied.
“You were painting a sunset glow,” he said suddenly.
“Hm?” Xuan Congnan asked.
Following Gu Shi’s gaze toward the unfinished oil painting by the window, he uttered an “oh” and said, “Right.”
Gu Shi had spotted this vibrant painting the moment he walked in, but fearing Xuan Congnan was hungry, he had held back his curiosity and eaten first.
“It’s today’s evening sunset,” Gu Shi said.
“Uh-huh,” Xuan Congnan replied.
“I took a photo. I wanted to send it to you at the time, but you were painting.” Gu Shi sent the captured photo to Xuan Congnan. He had taken it while sitting in the back seat of a car on his way to work.
It was a breathtaking natural landscape.
“It’s not too late to send it now,” Xuan Congnan said happily.
With plenty of storage space on his new phone, he long-pressed the screen to save it.
“Is this painting finished?” Gu Shi asked.
“Not yet,” Xuan Congnan said.
“How much longer will it take?”
“Hmm…” Xuan Congnan made a rough calculation and replied, “About three hours.”
“Where do you usually keep the paintings you finish?” Gu Shi asked.
“What’s there to keep when it’s just my own art?” Xuan Congnan asked with a strange look, before adding unceremoniously, “I sell them.”
“Do you have an online shop?” Gu Shi asked.
Having eaten the two portions of fried rice clean, Xuan Congnan packed the garbage into a plastic bag, nodded, and said, “I do.”
“Will this painting be sold on there?” Gu Shi asked.
“Mm.”
“How much?”
“Eight hundred,” Xuan Congnan named his price without a moment’s hesitation.
“It’s painted so well, why are you selling it so cheap?” Gu Shi felt it was a waste.
“People think eight hundred is expensive, too,” Xuan Congnan said. “Even if I paint this from start to finish, it takes at most six hours. It’s simple.”
“Are the ones that take longer to paint more expensive?” Gu Shi asked.
Xuan Congnan bundled up the trash from the wastebasket, planning to set it behind the door and toss it out when he went for his morning run: “Mm.”
“How expensive?” Gu Shi asked.
“Eighteen thousand,” Xuan Congnan said.
“How long did it take to paint?” Gu Shi asked.
Xuan Congnan thought for a moment and said, “About a month and a half.”
“What was depicted in that painting?” Gu Shi asked.
Having finished tidying up his workspace, Xuan Congnan looked back at Gu Shi. “You have so many questions.”
Realizing it himself, Gu Shi lowered his gaze and reined himself in. “Sorry.”
“It was the center of a deep blue ocean,” Xuan Congnan said. “Nothing special.”
Pointing at the landscape oil painting of the sunset glow by the window, Gu Shi said, “Sell this one to me. I’ll pay fifty-two thousand.”
Xuan Congnan: “???”
Shocked, he blurted out, “Huh?!”
There was not a trace of a joke in Gu Shi’s expression; if anything, he looked desperate, as if afraid Xuan Congnan wouldn’t sell it to him. He repeated himself, “Sell it to me.”
“No. you.” Unable to take it anymore and finding it simply too absurd, Xuan Congnan stared wide-eyed and said, “Leaving aside time costs, the material cost of this painting… is probably only 250 yuan.”
“Are you calling me a 250?” Gu Shi asked.
Xuan Congnan immediately shook his head in denial, “Not at all!”
“Alright. I’m willing to be a 250,” Gu Shi insisted. “Sell it to me. Once you finish painting it, I’m taking it home to treasure.”